The Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks a Maintenance Assistant

Genesis Turfgrass LLC.; Virginia Beach (VA); Hybrid; USD 37,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

20 vacation days

10 sick days

2 floating holidays

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

403(b) retirement plan

Job summary

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks a Maintenance Assistant to support Clagett Farm’s regenerative agriculture operations, focusing on infrastructure, livestock care, and seasonal tasks.

Under supervision, the role involves physical outdoor work, equipment operation, and collaboration within the Advocacy and Restoration department. This entry-level position offers hands-on farm experience and growth opportunities.

Qualifications

• Must be comfortable with physically demanding outdoor work in all weather conditions.
• Interest in regenerative agriculture, livestock care, and land stewardship.
• Ability to follow instructions, work independently, and collaborate as part of a team.
• Comfort operating tractors and small machinery or willingness to learn with training.
• Basic mechanical or tool-handling skills are a plus but not required.
• Must be able to lift 50 pounds and perform repetitive tasks such as digging, lifting, mowing, or fencing.

Responsibilities

• Mow, weed-whack, and manage vegetation along roads, fence lines, and structures.
• Help maintain and build fencing, gates, farm roads, and irrigation systems.
• Operate and maintain small farm equipment (tractors, trimmers, tools).
• Participate in daily animal care: feeding, moving herds, checking water, mucking barns.
• Assist with pasture management: rotations, reseeding, fertilizing, and haymaking.

Skills

Physical outdoor work

Regenerative agriculture

Team collaboration

Tractor operation

Basic mechanical skills

Job description

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks a Maintenance Assistant

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation seeks a Maintenance Assistant in the Advocacy and Restoration Department to be based at CBF’s Clagett Farm located in Upper Marlboro, MD.

About the Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Established in 1966, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) is the largest regional nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to saving the Chesapeake Bay, its rivers and streams, and the wildlife that call it home through education, advocacy, litigation, and restoration. Since 2010, CBF has engaged in a focused effort to defend and implement the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint , a binding federal and state collaborative agreement aimed at reducing pollution to the science-based, legally-affirmed levels established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Blueprint is expected to be fully implemented by 2025. If the states and the federal government achieve Blueprint goals, the Bay will finally—after decades of failed efforts—be removed from the Clean Water Act’s impaired waters list. Successfully implementing the Blueprint depends on a well-informed, engaged, active, and diverse constituency of members, advocates, and volunteers who speak up and take action to save the Bay.

CBF has a staff of approximately 230 employees working in offices in Annapolis, Maryland; Richmond and Virginia Beach, Virginia; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Washington, D.C. as well as 15 field education program locations. Our staff and volunteer corps work throughout the region educating students and adults, advocating for clean water policies, restoring waterways, and litigating when necessary.

CBF’s headquarters office in Annapolis, Maryland is the Philip Merrill Environmental Center, the world’s first U.S. Green Build Council’s LEED platinum building. In 2014, CBF opened the Brock Environmental Center—one of the world’s most energy efficient, environmentally smart buildings—in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

CBF has 200,000 members and supporters and an annual budget of approximately $30 million. For more information on CBF, please visit our About CBF page.

About the Hiring Department

Advocacy and Restoration

CBF’s Advocacy and Restoration department defends and restores the Chesapeake Bay by protecting the Bay’s natural resources from pollution and other harmful activities by fighting for strong and effective laws and regulations; restoring the Bay’s essential habitats and filtering mechanisms; and involving citizens in CBF’s environmental efforts by recruiting, training, and incorporating them as effective partners and leaders.

Context of the Position

The Maintenance Assistant position is an entry-level role supporting Clagett Farm’s regenerative agriculture operations, focusing on infrastructure, livestock care, and seasonal tasks. Under supervision, the Maintenance Assistant contributes to the health and productivity of farm systems while gaining valuable hands-on experience in livestock husbandry and maintenance of a sustainable regenerative farm.

Essential Functions

Farm Operations and Maintenance

• Mow, weed-whack, and manage vegetation along roads, fence lines, and structures.
• Help maintain and build fencing, gates, farm roads, and irrigation systems.
• Operate and maintain small farm equipment (tractors, trimmers, tools).

Livestock Support

• Participate in daily animal care: feeding, moving herds, checking water, mucking barns.
• Assist with pasture management: rotations, reseeding, fertilizing, and haymaking (cut, rake, bale, stack).
• Help manage feed and mineral inventory; maintain feed and water systems.
• Assist with preventive care (hoof trimming, FAMACHA, vaccines)

Apiary Support

• Seasonal help with inspections, honey supers, and weed management.
• Assist with honey extraction, feeding, winterizing, and pest control.

Professional Experience and Qualifications

• Strong work ethic and willingness to engage in physically demanding outdoor work in all weather conditions.
• Interest in regenerative agriculture, livestock care, and/or land stewardship.
• Ability to follow instructions, work independently, and collaborate as part of a team.
• Comfort operating tractors and small machinery or willingness to learn with training.
• Basic mechanical or tool-handling skills are a plus but not required.
• Must be able to lift 50 pounds and perform repetitive tasks such as digging, lifting, mowing, or fencing.

Salary Range: $37,000 – $42,000

CBF offers a 36-hour work week and for full-time staff, a comprehensive benefits package to include: 20 vacation days, 10 sick days, 2 floating holidays, health, vision, dental, life insurance, and a 403(b) retirement plan with matching contribution. Learn more about CBF Benefits .

We Are Committed to Saving the Bay and We Need You!

Bringing together the most qualified employees with diverse backgrounds, viewpoints, perspectives, and beliefs is the key to saving the Bay. We know that talented professionals can come from anywhere and everywhere. We are proud to have created an award-winning organization where they have the opportunity to thrive while joining us in our work to achieve clean water, clean air, and a safe environment—rights that we all share.

Wondering whether you have the right credentials or background to apply? We value lived experience, are serious about embracing diversity, and are committed to building a team that represents our communities’ backgrounds. That means we want people just like you!

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.